Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for detecting irregular combustion processes in a multicylinder diesel internal combustion engine by evaluating combustion noise through the use of a structure-borne noise sensor.
Injection systems in diesel internal combustion engines serve the function of introducing fuel, as finely atomized as possible, into a combustion space in a very short time. The higher the injection pressure, the better the mixture formation, and consequently the lower the fuel consumption and smoke emission. Injection systems at the present state of development, so-called common-rail systems, work with injection pressures of up to 1500 bar and are formed essentially of a high-pressure pump, a pressure accumulator, injectors and an electronic control device together with necessary sensors.
A problem which arises in such injection systems that are activated individually for each cylinder is that the operating behavior of the internal combustion engine, in particular the exhaust gas behavior, is adversely influenced by incorrect activation, for example at incorrect times, or by non-activation due to an absence of a flow of current to individual or to a plurality of injectors.